Eleven migrants have died at sea and 263 have been rescued off the coast of Libya, the country's navy said.

The migrants died as they were trying to cross from the country's western coast to Italy.

The migrants were found in two separate operations.

In the first operation, the coastguard found 11 bodies and 83 survivors off the town of Sabratha, while in the second, the coastguard rescued 180 migrants on two inflatable boats near the town of Zliten.

The migrants were believed to be from various sub-Saharan African countries.

Libya was plunged into chaos following a 2011 uprising, and remains split between rival governments in the east and west, each backed by an array of militias.